MONTEGO BAY, St James — Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex, which is currently in no shape to host Reggae Sumfest 2026, should be back up and running by the Emancipendence holidays, according to Urban Development Corporation (UDC) Chairman Norman Brown. He has also signalled that the UDC will soon resume discussions with Sumfest organisers about their long-stated wish to be granted a long-term lease for the space.

“I want to see if I can bring it back for the Independence holiday because I know that there is a jerk festival [Montego Bay Jerk and Food Festival] that is supposed to happen during that time. I am working hard to see if I can get it in a state of readiness by the end of July, into August, so that we can host it,” Brown told the Jamaica Observer.

“We have to get back to normal, so we are working towards that,” he added.

The Catherine Hall Complex was among the casualties of last October’s Hurricane Melissa. Powerful flood waters damaged a section of its perimeter wall, which had itself become a tourist attraction after being emblazoned with murals of Jamaican artistes and entertainment industry players.

“We did some preliminary work to just get back the fence in order both internally and externally,” Brown explained.

“We lost quite a bit of land to erosion on the seaside where the cars normally park,” he added.

The UDC chairman said he was unable to provide a price tag for the repairs, as the estimates are not yet in.

Long used as the location for Reggae Sumfest and other large-scale events, the venue is a large, open space that is built out for each event; so there are few buildings permanently erected there. Sumfest organisers DownSound Entertainment (DSE) have long talked of doing more with the venue, including adding restaurants, boardwalks, and a reggae museum. To pump that level of investment into the property, DownSound CEO Joe Bogdanovich and his team want a 30-year lease.

Brown explained why those talks have dragged.

“One of the things that has somewhat delayed the finalisation is the master plan for the development of the area,” he said.

There are plans to transform and pedestrianised the city’s waterfront from Freeport in the west to Dead End in the east. Catherine Hall Entertainment complex falls squarely within that area.

“We will have to wait and see what unfolds in the master plan so that we can have a proper organised construction and designation of the events here,” said Brown.

He is also looking forward to Reggae Sumfest’s return to Catherine Hall where three massive stage shows are usually the climax to a week of events in Montego Bay. This year, a scaled down version of the show has been planned for Plantation Cove in St Ann on July 18. Billed ‘A Taste of Reggae Sumfest’, the one-day event will be headlined by dancehall heavyweights Vybz Kartel and Mavado. Pier One in Montego Bay has said it will go ahead with its usual All White Party, but the loss of Reggae Sumfest has dealt a big blow to Montego Bay’s economy. City leaders are keeping a watchful eye out for any signs that Sumfest will remain in St Ann.

Brown does not appear concerned.

“We haven’t had any discussions with them yet but I saw in the media where the CEO for DownSound had said that the event in Priory is a one-off,” he said of discussions about hosting Reggae Sumfest 2027.

“But let us see. Montego Bay is the vibes place. This is where festivals live. They will go elsewhere and it’s not so vibrant,” he predicted.

BROWN… we are working on repairing the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex by August .

Conditions at Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex, in Montego Bay on Tuesday May 26.